Force & Destiny

Episode IV

The Depths....

29

MAY/17

Our heroes spent the evening celebrating in the village of Malik. But Parrel Sabota snuck away during the festivities, returning to his hut. When they followed, they discovered Sabota in a deep Jedi meditation, several items floating around him. The most curious of these was an ornate cube which looked to be crafted from stone and metal.

Sabota told the heroes the rest of his story: He was a Jedi Knight during the galaxy-spanning Clone Wars. While fighting legions of droids on a remote planet, Sabota's battalion was attacked with a biological weapon. Only focusing the Force has allowed Sabota to survive. All others eventually succumbed to the disease.

The war ended with the Clone army turning on their Jedi officers, killing thousands in one blow. Sabota was recovering on Coruscant, the galaxy's seat of government. He escaped the hunting troops and retrieved the location of Adumar from the Jedi library. After deleting the entry, he ran. His decision to leave has haunted him for many years.

He helped build the village of Malik, trying to live a quiet life, but decided the only way to atone was to find new students and pass on his Jedi knowledge. He knew Adumar had a deep connection to the Force, so he began seeking beings who demonstrated a particular affinity.

At the same time, he detected a wellspring of Force potential somewhere in Yedagon City. His searches collided when he met the heroes during the Proving.

He asked for their help to investigate the Force nexus, the entrance of which he now believed to be under Rogarth ke Silkhund's tower. For the moment, what he needed most was rest.

A few days later, the whole party traveled back to Yedagon and infiltrated Silkhund's tower. Deep in a subbasement, the found a door which opened to a cave system below. Obviously someone had already discovered and excavated the cavern.

As they moved forward, each fledgling Jedi felt a pull, a sign from the Force. They had to face a trial within themselves and afterward, each found a small jewel, humming with power. Why the Force called each of them to these tiny gems remains a mystery.

They delved deeper into the caves and came upon a large chamber, a lake with an island in its center. There was Sabota facing off with Silkhund himself. Silkhund held a stone cylinder, crackling with lightning. He screamed how he now had the power to make all of Adumar his own.

Sabota stood straight for the first time in weeks, dropping his old, worn robes. He broke open his walking stick, activated a dazzlingly bright blade of pure energy, and charged the would-be tyrant, only to be thrown back by a burst of energy from the strange stone in Silkhund's hands.

Sabota yelled for his students to stay away, but they ignored him. Xebo and Jacen leapt to the island. Xebo nearly brought Silkhund down with a toxin, but he proved heartier than previously thought, emboldened by rage and a dark power. Nordak began covering them with blaster fire. Aro never made a violent gesture, merely convincing the guards to disengage completely. Marlow made to rescue Sabota, nearly obliterating a man with her bare hands in the process.

Silkhund pounded the Jedi with lightning. Some, Sabota deflected, but he quickly weakened. His disease took its harsh toll on his body, the energy pouring into him did the rest. He fell, but before Silkhund could deliver one final blow, Marlow snatched her master from the ground, leaping back to the safety of the shore.

Enraged and distracted, Silkhund fell to the blades and blasts of his attackers. The electricity fizzled out as he died, cold and alone on the stones beneath his tower.

Jacen scooped up the strange stone cylinder and the heroes reconvened on the shores of the lake. They were now alone in the silence of the deep….